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answering dept id

13

min answer › question first answered

2018-11-12T17:25:32.44Z

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<p>The Agriculture Bill currently going through parliament provides the powers necessary
to support sustainable livestock production by making payments to farmers for adopting
approaches to farm husbandry that improve animal health and welfare and which protect
the farmed environment. It also creates the powers needed to improve fairness and
transparency in the supply chain so that livestock farmers can provide a fairer price
for the food they produce. Finally, the government aims to secure a deep and comprehensive
free trade deal with the EU that continues to provide for frictionless, tariff-free
trade.</p><p> </p>

<p>On the 15th June the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) accepted a commission from
the Home Secretary to review the full composition of the Shortage Occupation List
(SOL) for the first time since 2013. The SOL covers non-EEA migration for highly skilled
roles. The MAC will report in spring 2019.</p><p> </p><p>In the meantime Defra continues
to work closely with other Government Departments, including the Home Office, to ensure
a long term strategy for the food and farming workforce, including veterinarians,
as part of the future immigration policy.</p>

<p>Defra officials continually study statistics about the veterinary profession. The
sources are publicly available through the website of the Royal College of Veterinary
Surgeons (RCVS).</p><p> </p><p>The number of vets who may be required after the UK
leaves the EU varies according to the range of scenarios.</p><p> </p><p>We anticipate
some extra demand would be created in the unlikely event that the UK does not reach
a deal with the EU relating to the certification of animals and animal products for
export to the EU. RCVS has announced its agreement to a proposal from Defra for the
creation of a new type of a supporting officer role in aid of the export certification
work. This would potentially reduce the additional demands on vets.</p><p> </p><p>Defra
continues to work with other Government Departments and veterinary stakeholders on
further initiatives to ensure sufficient veterinary capacity.</p>

<p>The Government has no immediate plans to change the rabies regime in the short
term following the UK’s departure from the EU. For entry into the UK the current pet
travel health requirements will continue to apply, although additional controls could
be considered at a later date</p><p><br> The UK harmonised with the EU Pet Travel
Scheme (PTS) rules in 2012. In 2011 we made an assessment of the risk of rabies introduction
to the UK. This assessment concluded that the risk of an animal with rabies entering
the UK under the PTS was very low. Since then, there have been no cases of rabies
in pets entering the UK under the PTS. However, the Government continues to monitor
the disease situation and will undertake a further formal risk assessment if evidence
indicates that one is warranted.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>When the UK leaves
the EU it will be a third country. This means pet animals entering the EU from the
UK would need to continue to follow the rules of the PTS. On 24 September this year
a Technical Notice ‘<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/taking-your-pet-abroad-if-theres-no-brexit-deal/taking-your-pet-abroad-if-theres-no-brexit-deal"
target="_blank">Taking your pet abroad if there’s no Brexit deal</a>’ was issued.
On 6 November the Government issued follow up guidance and advice on <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/pet-travel-to-europe-after-brexit"
target="_blank">Pet travel to Europe after Brexit</a> in the unlikely event that the
UK becomes an unlisted third country.</p>

<p>The Government recognises the economic and cultural importance of UK geographical
indications (GIs).</p><p> </p><p>The protection of UK GIs in the EU and EU GIs in
the UK is subject to ongoing negotiations, and we are working as quickly as possible
to come to a solution. However, we anticipate that all current UK GIs will continue
to be protected by the EU’s GI schemes after we leave the EU.</p><p> </p><p>We will
use the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 to ensure GI schemes for wines, aromatised
wines, spirit drinks, agricultural products and foodstuffs are in place once the UK
is no longer bound by EU law. This will provide UK protection for UK GIs when we leave
the EU and ensure that the UK fulfils its obligations under World Trade Organisation
Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights rules.</p>

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps
is his Department is taking to ensure agricultural policy across the constituent parts
of the UK does not distort market prices within the UK.

<p>Following the Joint Ministerial Committee (EU Negotiations) communique on 16 October
2017, on agreed principles, Defra and the devolved administrations started discussions
in November 2017 on where a common approach or framework may be needed. Officials
have met several times since then to discuss the internal market in relation to the
agriculture sector. We intend to have in place an administrative framework for co-ordinating
agricultural support spending and changes to marketing standards to ensure effective
co-ordination and dialogue between the administrations on how any changes to policy
in one part of the UK may affect other parts.</p>

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate
he has made of the number of properties at threat of (a) flooding and (b) destruction
from an average rise in global temperature of (i) 1.5 degrees and (ii) 2 degrees Celsius.

<p>The Environment Agency estimates there are 2.7 million properties at risk of river
and coastal flooding, 3 million properties at risk of surface water flooding and some
660,000 properties at risk from all sources: river, coastal and surface water. The
report can be found online at <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/flood-and-coastal-risk-management-national-report"
target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/flood-and-coastal-risk-management-national-report</a></p><p>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>As set out in the Climate Change Act 2008, Defra publishes
the Climate Change Risk Assessment every five years which highlights the climate risks
requiring further action in the UK over the next five years. The UK Climate Change
Risk Assessment 2017 Evidence Report provides an assessment of future flood and other
risks and can be found at <a href="https://www.theccc.org.uk/tackling-climate-change/preparing-for-climate-change/uk-climate-change-risk-assessment-2017/"
target="_blank">https://www.theccc.org.uk/tackling-climate-change/preparing-for-climate-change/uk-climate-change-risk-assessment-2017/</a>).</p><p>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Later this year, the Government will publish, with the Met
Office, an updated set of UK Climate Projections – UKCP18. This will help the Government,
businesses and the public understand the future climate and enable them to make climate-resilient
decisions.</p><p> </p>

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the findings in
the Living Planet Report 2018, published by the World Wildlife Fund and Zoological
Society of London, that (1) there has been a decline of 60 per cent in species population
sizes between 1970 and 2014, and (2) species population declines are especially pronounced
in the tropics; and what strategy, if any, they have to address these findings.

<p>The Government recognises that there have been declines in species populations
across the world since 1970 and that declines have been pronounced in many tropical
ecosystems. This downward trend and the impact it has on peoples’ economic and social
wellbeing highlights the need to strengthen international efforts to tackle biodiversity
loss.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Government is committed to being the first
generation to leave our environment in a better state than we found it. We are already
working worldwide, including in the tropics, to tackle biodiversity loss, by:</p><p>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li><p>Investing more than £36 million between 2014 and 2021
to tackle the illegal wildlife trade, and hosting the fourth international Illegal
Wildlife Trade conference last month in London. The conference represented a significant
step forward in the global fight to eliminate this trade;</p></li><li><p>Committing
£210 million of Defra’s International Climate Finance to support projects that aim
to protect and restore more than 500,000 hectares of the world’s most biodiverse forests.
For example, we are supporting communities in Madagascar to protect mangrove forests,
which are important habitats for the protection of many species, some of which are
found nowhere else on earth;</p></li><li><p>Ambitious plans under the Government’s
25 Year Environment Plan to reverse the decline of many species and help wildlife
survive and thrive. We are committed to protecting the oceans, and have called for
at least 30 per cent of the oceans to be in Marine Protected Areas by 2030. The UK
is also leading the fight against plastic pollution; and</p></li><li><p>Introducing
one of the world’s toughest bans on ivory sales to protect the elephant.</p></li></ul><p>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>We are also committed to developing an ambitious post-2020
strategic framework for biodiversity and are working with countries around the world
to achieve this under the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity.</p><p>
</p>

<p><br></p><p>Defra does not hold the statistics required to answer this question.
Overseas trade commodity data collected by HMRC does not include any details of where
products are manufactured, or of any intermediate manufacturing processes.</p><p><br></p>

<p>The summary of the responses to the consultation on the draft Animal Welfare (Sentencing
and Recognition of Sentience) Bill, including the government's next steps, was published
on 7 August 2018 at the following link:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/draft-animal-welfare-sentencing-and-recognition-of-sentience-bill-2017"
target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/draft-animal-welfare-sentencing-and-recognition-of-sentience-bill-2017</a>.</p><p>
</p><p>I have placed a copy in the Library of the House. Legislation will be introduced
as soon as parliamentary time allows.</p>